Fireworks Cookies-on-a-Stick for the Fourth of July

One of my favorite parts of the Fourth of July is the fireworks. As a parent, I love them more as I watch my children’s eyes gleam with delight as they see the bursts of color up above in the sky. I still remember the day we took my now-6-year-old down to see the fireworks display over the river when he was only 10 months old, and he held his tiny hands over his ears, clinging to my shirt and staring up at the sky.

Seems fitting, then, that for Independence Day, I’d be smitten with those bursts of color and recreate them in cookie form for a 4th of July potluck we’ll be attending. And put them on a stick because everything’s better on a stick. Right?

To bake, roll out dough and cut star shapes. Place a small ball of dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the tip of the stick across the dough. Cover with a star-shaped piece of dough. Press out any cracks lightly. Refrigerate dough for one hour before baking. (Note: I failed at this part and my cookies spread rather than staying in their shape. Warm butter causes them to do this and refrigerating will help prevent it.)

Allow cookies to cool completely. Decorate. Eat.

Decorating with Royal Icing:

Make a barrier. 1 of 9

Pipe a border around your cookie to hold your frosting.

Flood the cookie. 2 of 9

Add the icing of your choice to the center and flood. Remember the icing spreads, so you can leave a few holes and shake the cookie to spread it out.

Spread out. 3 of 9

This is what it looks like after a little tap and a shake. Nice and filled in. Pop small bubbles with a toothpick.

Add more colors. 4 of 9

Add rings of color to your icing. Try to keep them as thin as possible.

Be lazy and do a bunch of one color at a time. 5 of 9

You can alternate back and forth for more consistency as well. I, uh, chose not to.

Add a red ring or two. 6 of 9

We're all patriotic in here.

Run a toothpick from the center of the cookie out. 7 of 9

Be careful when you pick up the tip, and wipe off the toothpick in between each pull-through to avoid mixing colors where you don't want them.

Let it set. 8 of 9

Leave your cookie out for a few hours or overnight to let the icing set in place.

Ta-da 9 of 9

Bring your cookies to your Fourth of July celebration and share with the kids.

Use a Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, profile photo and other personal information you make public on Facebook (e.g., school, work, current city, age) will appear with your comment. Learn More.